TIPS

Create Your Fabulous eBook With Canva Free

And explore another avenue of creativity

Over a year ago I thought to write an eBook.

The idea marinated in my head for a long time. Allowing procrastination to take the driver’s seat, I did nothing.

Two weeks ago I launched and sold my first eBook. To be clear, it’s a compilation of select poems, not a 325-page novel. Still, the effort is a huge deal for me. Rather than a complete step-by-step “how-to” guide, this article shares tips and challenges in my four-day process from research to launch (a separate story will follow about selling platforms).

Getting Started

Becoming overwhelmed in the initial research, I almost bagged the project. What I soon learned should have been obvious: patience is crucial. And in the end, it paid off.

Among the many platforms for an eBook:

1. Adobe InDesign — Write, design, publish
2. Kindle Create — Amazon’s formatting tool
3. Pages — For use with Apple Books
4. Calibre — One-stop solution
5. Visme — promoting visual brand experiences
6. Canva — create and design templates

For its cost-effectiveness and ease of use, I chose #6. Another reason influencing my decision was that I already had a Canva account since last summer when I thought I’d sell my writing services on Fiverr (a story for another time).

The Australian graphic design platform lists three pricing plans* (Free, Pro ($119.99 paid annually or $12.99 per month), and Enterprise). This last one is designed for businesses seeking to manage their teams and brand.

*Note: there are also options for those in the education and non-profit sectors.

Creating your account is simple: use your email, Google, Facebook, or Apple ID. Using the first option, you’ll go to the signup page. Add your email address, set a password, then check your inbox for the verification step.

Once you’ve confirmed your email, get ready to peruse the gallery of design templates. Seemingly endless choices are available; however, as is to be expected, the free version has limitations.

Don’t let that deter you because you can still get creative. For example, the text font, colors, and background on a particular template can be altered. You can even do what I did — use an image from your personal gallery (I used one of my favorite pics from a trip to Ireland for the cover page).

Invaluable Resource

Everyone knows the internet offers a wealth of information. The flip is its overload factor. Unless you’re well versed in the world of digital publishing (in which case you likely wouldn’t be reading this), you might not know where to start.

Enter YouTube.

Finding digital marketer and entrepreneur, Aurelius Tjin was a goldmine. Using his genius tutorial as my blueprint (and pausing several times throughout), I was on my way to crafting my first eBook.

Key points to consider when creating your design:

• select multiple pages template (seems obvious, but this allows you to delete/add without re-creating pages from scratch)
• apply color filter (to narrow down your preferences)
• use duplicate page feature with page numbers (to avoid manually typing each one — I learned this the hard way)
• experiment with fonts & sizes (keep your reader in mind: simple, clear text is easier on the eyes)

While my experience creating this first eBook with Canva was relatively smooth, there were a few pain points. The page numbering was a pain to work around because I unintentionally removed the pre-set of my template, then had to go through the entire document (at the end) to fix it.

Another thing that took several hours was the copy/paste re-formatting of my text into the Canva editor. I had to play with the margins and re-work the material many times over to ensure it was esthetically pleasing.

Check out Aurelius’s tutorial here:

Learning Curve

I remember feeling both ecstatic and then a pinch disappointed. On the one hand, finally putting out my first eBook was mission accomplished. Unlike other past ideas, this time I stayed the course and am proud of myself.

The timeframe had me less than enthusiastic. I unrealistically thought I could complete the design in one day. Now I know that my gotta get this done today mentality was counterproductive — the product has to be perfect. There should be no rush, besides, it was all a part of learning a new skill set.

Among the acquired knowledge was the concept of an introduction. To include a synopsis of my background and work, I needed the perfect lead-in. For that, I turned to The Write Practice’s explanation of the four options:

(a) Introduction — highlights the why of the story; prepares the reader with all the information they need to understand the full story

(b) Preface — tells the reader all details that precede the facts and events of the book; the author can add signature, date, and location

(c) Prologue — almost always reads like a story; prepares the reader for the message in the book through a beautiful narrative (note: with a prologue the author might also consider adding an epilogue at the end)

(d) Foreword — generally written by a more well-known and respected figure, it provides background or relevant experience with the topic of the book.

Of these, the first three are handled by the author. I chose a preface because I liked the idea of adding my closing note— it added a personal touch.

Mixed Feelings

Initially, I had conflicting thoughts on whether to promote my eBook on Medium. I felt it would be unrealistic to expect anyone to buy it, knowing that the pieces can be found on this platform.

Then I realized that it (a) serves as an ideal way to market my first digital product, (b) allows centralization of a selection of my poems, and (c) offers a way for folks to support my work.

Since building community and showing gratitude are ways of spreading positivity, I set aside five complimentary downloads. Currently, I’ve sold three and gifted one [of the five]. The link to Pictures From My Mind can be found below.

Canva Fun Facts:

1. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, the company owns Pixabay and Pexels
2. All free photos, music, and video files on Canva can be used free for commercial and noncommercial use (see their website)
3. Global factor: teams working in Austin, San Francisco, Beijing, Wuhan, Sydney, Manila, London, and then some
4. In 2021, 3.5 billion designs were created & 480 million videos were published
5. Office pets: there are 503 furry friends at Canva

Special thanks to Omy and Dr Mehmet Yildiz for your support. The insightful marketing ideas and constructive feedback remind me why I’m so grateful for this space.